Oodles of Zoodles During Zucchini Season

Spiralizer's are all the rage right now and I am a fan.  I have recently purchased one and it has truly saved me.  

Why?  

Well, let me tell you.  I love pasta!  I miss pasta!  I crave pasta dishes! Since I have had to stop eating gluten, I have been trying other options.  The gluten-free versions of pasta just don't cut it for me.  However, zoodles are cutting it!  A zoodle is a spiralized zucchini noodle.  It's actually very cool how these work.  If you have never seen one, insert the word "spiralizer" into your search engine and many cool images will appear.

 My spiralizer is a pencil sharpener style.

You insert the zucchini in one end and turn as if sharpening a pencil.  Spirals of zucchini noodles come out the other end.  It is truly genius!  

 Then you take the zoodles and blanch them in boiling water for 30-60 seconds.  I do 30 seconds because I prefer al dente.  

Today my neighbor, Rachel, brought me over oodles of zoodles and I adore her for doing so and am putting them to good use :)

Here is a super easy idea for creating a delicious meal with your zoodles: 

First, heat a little olive oil in a pan over medium heat.

Then, add a heaping teaspoon of garlic and sauté for just a couple of seconds.

Add about a tablespoon of bacon crumbles and sauté until caramelized. 

Add a teaspoon of capers and a large handful of blanched zoodles.  Stir quickly just until warm so that you don't make the zoodles mushy.  

Serve warm and if so inclined, sprinkle with a little Parmesan cheese.  It is delicious without the cheese also. Even though I am trying to maintain a Paleo diet, I enjoy a little Parmesan occasionally.  

Next, I am going to try spiralizing sweet potatoes.  I wonder if they are called spoodles :)  I would love your feedback on your spiralizing experiences.  For now though, enjoy zucchini season my friends! 

Stepping up my game for healthy changes

Now that December is here, I am reflecting on my health journey over the past year. 2015 started out fairly strong. However, by spring I began noticing more pain throughout my body.

When summer arrived, it was full of fun in the sun......

.....but my inflammation raged out of control, causing joint damage. So, July 5th I reluctantly added the prescription drug Leflunomide to my morning routine with the hope of preventing further joint damage and ending my chronic pain.  Those of you who know me and follow my blog understand what a huge decision this was for me.  I live my life around nutritional healing. "Let food be thy medicine" has become my mantra. I felt like such a failure and wept while taking the first pill.

The first couple of weeks on the medication seemed to go OK, but then I began having horrible stomach pain and other gastrointestinal issues (I will spare you the details).  The pain became increasingly worse as the days went by.  I finally called my RA doc and he advised me to stop the meds immediately.  It has been 4 months since I stopped and am still having issues. Apparently this drug takes quite some time to get out of your system.

After this experience, I am more determined than ever to continue my healing path through nutrition. Obviously, it is time to step up my game so that I am able to enjoy the many adventures left with my best friend, the love of my life.

I have been reading about Paleo, Whole 30, and other gut healing books.  What I am learning from these books is that auto immune disease may begin in an unhealthy gut.  It is time to give that some serious consideration.  I am also noticing an intolerance to gluten since the medication episode.  I have never had problems with gluten before so this has me stumped.  Never the less, I am avoiding gluten at the moment and seem to feel much better.  I really really really miss my breads and pastas. My waistline on the other hand is not missing them at all :)

Since I love to cook and create delicious healthy recipes, eating a Paleo diet has been discouraging creatively and left me feeling blah about mealtime.  Recently, I shared my struggle with a friend of mine and she sent me home with several Paleo cookbooks that inspired me.  I feel excited about cooking again.  I guess Paleo doesn't have to be boring after all.  I am now looking forward to trying fun new dishes that can potentially heal my body as well.

Getting through the holiday's will be challenging with all of the wonderful treats. I would love to hear your favorite Paleo or gluten-free recipes and tips!

Rhubarb cubes to calm inflammation!

I have this great rhubarb plant in my garden that produces nicely every spring.  My husband and I collected the last of it before summer heat stops it from producing. We harvested a nice big bundle.

Rhubarb is an extremely tart fruit that has some great health benefits. According to a wonderful and informative new book I recently bought, "Healing Foods",  rhubarb assists in lowering cholesterol, protects eye health and helps to strengthen bones. It also calms inflammation.  This is something I really want in my daily smoothie!

I decided to experiment and the experiment was a success!

First I removed the leaves and discarded them. Then I diced each stalk into about 1/2 inch pieces and placed in the strainer.  After washing them well I placed them in a pot and covered them with water. Just enough water to cover them though and no more.

I let them simmer for 30 minutes on medium-low heat stirring occasionally.

Then, I poured them into mini muffin pans but, if I had ice cube trays I would have used those. However, the muffin pans worked just fine.

Now I have wonderful frozen cubes of rhubarb to add to my daily smoothie.  I recommend also adding a sweet fruit into your smoothie with the rhubarb to balance out the tartness if it is too tart for your personal taste.  Mango is a good choice as it is a powerful inflammation fighter and very sweet.

I hope this is something you can use to add more calming foods into your diet! Enjoy :)

*If you are wanting a baked treat  Summer Rhubarb Coffee Cake is fantastic!